Power to Change » self-control

Recipe for Peace, Joy and Victory

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 08:00:56 +0000

Are you tired of a defeated Christian life? Take this Study.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4)!

Repent: Of anything–actions, attitudes, words, bad habits–anything that might stand between you and the peace and joy of the Lord. True acknowledgment of sin and sorrow over it releases its hold over you and your life. (See James 4:8-10)

Surrender To God: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in views of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and please to God—which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2).

Ask God’s Forgiveness Whenever You Err: To keep Christ’s peace and joy, don’t ever let anything come between you and Him. (See 1 John 1:9)

Forgive: God, Yourself, Others: Ask the Lord to reveal to you if there is anyone who has ever done you ill whom you need to forgive; and with His help, forgive that person. Do this to exorcise the ghosts in your past that may rise up periodically to haunt you and hurt your life and relationships. Do this to have peace with God, yourself, and others. (See Luke 11:4, Mark 11:25-26, Ephesians 4:32.)

Trust in The Lord In Everything: Be anxious about nothing (Philippians 4:4-8).

Begin Your Day by Rejoicing in the Lord praising and thanking Him (Psalm 34:1). Enjoy life to the fullest! Report to the Lord for duty each morning, willing to serve Him however He may wish, in whatever He may want to do through you, in ministering to others, in being His light to your world.

Whenever Something Gets you Down, Praise The Lord (even and especially when you don’t feel like it). This will lift you out of the dungeon of despair (Acts 16:25-26). It worked for Paul and Silas; and it works for me every time!

Control Your Thoughts: Bring every thought into obedience to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:5). Be on guard against our enemy Satan and his devious devices. Study Ephesians 4:26-5:11, Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8.

Serve the Lord: He has given you a gift or gifts–and talents–with which to serve Him, His people, and others for His glory. Seek His guidance.

Read: Psalms 23, 34, 37, 51; Matthew 5 to 7; John 14 to 17; Romans 6, 7, 8, and 12; Galatians 5; Book of Ephesians; Philippians 4–until you fully understand what it is to die to self and walk in the Spirit.

Memorize: Psalms 23 and 34; Proverbs 3:5-8; Isaiah 26:3; Matthew 6:9-15, 31-33; Luke 10:17; John 10:27-28; Romans 5:8, 6:11; 8:18, 28; 10:9-13; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 10:13, 31; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, 12:9-10; Galatians 2:20, 4:7, 6:2; Ephesians 2:8-10, 4:32, 6:10-18; Philippians 1:6, 3:13-14, 4:4-8, 11, 13; Colossians 3:2-3; 2 Timothy 1:7, 12; Hebrews 4:15-16; 1 John 1:9, 4:4, 18-21.

Lord, give me your incredible joy, peace, and victory! Amen

Questions: We’re only human. How can we consistently have Christ’s joy, peace, and victory? How can we find time to do all the things we need to do to have Christ’s joy and peace?

Harmful Temptations

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:15:12 +0000

When Andrew was introduced to pornography at a young age, he felt simultaneously attracted to it and repulsed by it. Eventually it began to negatively affect all of his relationships. Although we often feel tempted, where do we find strength to turn away from what seems enjoyable in the moment but that we know is ultimately so harmful?

Choose Self-Control: Whole-Hearted Resolution

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:53:08 +0000

We shake our heads as we see the daily news, faced again with the reality that our society is out of control. If we ponder our own lives and homes, we sometimes see evidence of the same problem. What is self-control? How can we be self-controlled? Can we help our children develop self-control? Learn more about self-control or temperance in this study and find out how it can affect your life.

Read the Gospels, and you find in Jesus the perfect example of self-control. Scripture affirms that he was tempted in all ways as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). How did Jesus avoid sin, all sin, every sin, all through life?

Jesus gives us a hint as to how He did so in a passage in Isaiah 50. Read Isaiah 50:4-11 a few times carefully. Then reflect on the following questions to discover Jesus’ outlook on His life, His ministry and his relationship to the Lord God His Father.

1. Who did Jesus listen to? Who did He go to for directions? For the very words He spoke? What word is used to describe Him?

2. How often did Jesus seek out the Father's direction for His life and ministry? More thoughts...

(Read John 14.7-15 for further details.) Did Jesus ever do anything in His own strength, without first being told what to do by His Father (John 5.19-30)? What does this tell you about their relationship?

3. When His Father asked Him to submit to the torture men inflicted upon Him, did Jesus refuse to obey? What reasons does the text in Isaiah give for His ability to go to the cross in obedience to His Father? How is this a demonstration of self-control?

4. Who did Jesus rely on? Who did He entrust Himself to? Whose purposes did He embrace? Who did Jesus live and die for? More thoughts...

(See Luke 9:18-27 to discover Jesus' attitude towards His life and to read His invitation to follow Him along the same path.) We find an allusion to Isaiah 50 in Luke 9:51-62. Isaiah 50:7 says: 'I have set my face like flint.' In Luke 9:51 we read: 'Jesus resolutely set his face to go to Jerusalem.' What does this wording reveal? Jesus resolutely chose to go to the cross. He set His face like a rock towards Jerusalem, the city where He would be condemned to die. He faced the difficult thing God was asking of Him and set out to do it, one step after the other, his eyes fixed on the goal and the God who called Him to this task. We especially need self-control when God is asking us to do that which we do not desire to do, that which we fear doing, that which terrifies us or troubles us. God calls us to a life that is abundant But that life can also be perilous and arduous. Jesus promises that we will know the same tribulation, persecution, and hatred that He encountered (Matthew 5:11-16).The cowardly cannot live the life of a disciple. Only the courageous, the resolute, the decided, the self-controlled, can.

5. Do you agree that it is when God’s will is different from your will that self-control is necessary? Why or why not?

6. What do you do when you and God have a difference in opinion about how you should live your life? Who wins, usually? If you are not doing what God wants, who are you serving?

7. Jesus never sinned: He always chose freely to do what His Father told Him to do. What enabled Him to maintain that attitude of trust and obedience?

8. What is the difference between trying to stop sinning on your own using will-power, and listening to God's voice and obeying His will in His strength? More thoughts...

(For further ideas on this question, go to Ephesians 3:14-21. Look especially at what God can accomplish through His power at work WITHIN US!)

9. Had you ever seen the link between self-control (freedom from sin) and yielding to God and His will before? Does it make sense to you that self-control is not controlling one’s self, but rather letting Christ control you, guide you, live through you by His Spirit? Why or why not?

10. Do you have any further questions? Any further thoughts you would like to share? Any prayer requests you would like to make known?

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Cultivating Self Control

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:53:02 +0000

We shake our heads as we see the daily news, faced again with the reality that our society is out of control. If we ponder about our own lives and homes, we sometimes see evidence of the same problem. How can we cultivate self control in our personal lives? Can we help our children develop self control? Learn more about self control or temperance in this study and find out how it can affect your life.

How to Live a “Self-Controlled” Life

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:51:03 +0000

The character quality of self-control is admired, yet so often we see struggles in this area. So many people are enslaved to a habit or addiction. Others grasp for control over any area of life, and are frustrated when much seems beyond control. Do we seek to control the wrong things? Is self-control appropriate, or is it just a reflection of stubborn willfulness that is set against God’s ways?

1. Reread Galatians 5:16-17 & 2 Peter 1:3-9. What defense do we have against the control of sin? More thoughts: Romans 6:14-23 may also be helpful.

2. From 2 Peter 1:3-4, what are the rewards of one who possess the virtues listed in vs.5-7, specifically self-control?

3. According to Gal. 5:5, what might some of the precious promises include that will help us in the battle against the flesh?

4. Is there truly such a thing as self-control? (Romans 3:12) What is your role in developing this virtue?

5. Is there a difference between godly self-control and stubbornness? More thoughts...

How is self-control different than just trying to keep a long list of do’s and don’ts?

6. What does the phrase “alert discipline” imply about our defense? How can you become “alert”? (Galatians 5:16 & 24, Hebrews 6:12, 2 Peter 3:17-18, may be helpful)

7. Peter encourages us that through the knowledge of God we have peace, grace and all we need for life and godliness.

8. How has God equipped us to live a life of godliness? (2 Peter 1:3-4)

9. What additional thoughts or questions do you have about this study?

10. Please pray for me in these areas:

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Our Pattern for Self Control

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:51:03 +0000

Most people agree that self-control is a good attribute, yet we consistently see a world where people grasp for control and rarely exhibit self-control in the process. Do you know examples of those who faced major challenges yet showed self-control in a clear way? In this study let’s look at one example of self-control and see how our observations might benefit our own lives.

1. If you have a Bible available, turn to Matthew 4:1-11 or Luke 4:1-13. Read either text and briefly summarize the setting and the challenge facing the primary character.

2. What help did Jesus have against temptation? Do we have that help today?

3. What did Satan tempt Jesus with? How did Jesus respond to each temptation? More thoughts...

How can we be “alert”, meaning prepared, to respond to temptation in the same way?

4. According to Matthew, how was Jesus ministered to when self-control was triumphant? More thoughts...

Remember this when you are persevering through temptation in your own life. Peter anticipates perseverance will be needed as you resist temptation and press forward in your Christian walk.

5. What do you think was Jesus’ biggest temptation and why?

6. Reflect! Why is it so important to live in self-control? As we wrap up this three part series, let’s put this characteristic back into a broader context. Knowledge is good, but unless we apply what we learn, it’s been largely a waste of time. In 2 Peter 1:5-7, Peter explains that self-control is part of a process. What is the end result of that process?

7. How do you think self-control could produce love? (Gal. 5:13-15)

8. From 2 Peter 1:8-9, or any other Bible passage you can think of, list the benefits of being self-controlled. More thoughts...

Where do we find the strength to live self-controlled, alert lives?

9. Ask God to reveal whatever it may be that he would like you to refrain from. How will obedience to God in this area benefit your friends, family or anyone else around you?

10. What additional thoughts or questions do you have about this study? Please pray for me in these areas:

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The Foundation for Self-Control

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:51:03 +0000

How important is control to you? What about self-control? Christ-followers are challenged to grow in self-control. How is this possible? In this study we will explore the value and necessity of self-control in our lives today.

1. Most Bible translations quote Peter as instructing us to “build onto knowledge with … self-control” (2 Peter 1:5-7). The Message uses the words “alert discipline” instead of self-control. Using a dictionary define “self-control,” “alert” and “discipline.”

2. In your own words, using the above definitions, how would you explain self-control to a friend?

3. According to Romans 6:12, what causes us to not be “self-controlled”, giving into our own selfish desires?

4. Read Galatians 5:16-17 & 2 Peter 1:8-9. What are the spiritual effects of giving in to your sinful desires?

5. Choose one of the following examples from Scripture, and consider the exercise of self control or lack of it in that example. What were the results of the choices made? Consider Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38), Samson and Delilah (Judges 16) or Esther (see Esther 2). More thoughts...

How did their choice affect their lives and the lives of those around them?

6. Give examples of how people today demonstrate a lack of self-control. (What does Proverbs 25:28 say about a person who lacks self-control?)

7. When have your own emotions, desires or impulses led to sin in your own life?

8. Ask God to reveal the desires that are your own and those that are from God. How will you control the desires that lead to sin?

9. Share a time when someone has demonstrated self-control towards you.

10. What additional thoughts or questions do you have about this study? Please pray for me in these areas:

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The Spirit and PCs

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:00:31 +0000

Feeling lonely and unloved? We’re here. Talk to us.

Suppose you could acquire the most complex computer in the world – one that would make you the wisest person who ever lived. It could give you the answers to every problem. It could make you a beautiful person. It could give you the sweetest disposition.

It could give you direction. “What should I be in life?” you could ask. Pressing buttons, you’d list your interests, your talents, your training. And the answer would come. You ask advice on something. Red light flash! Watch out, look where you’re going! Just think of the problems it could save you.

It could give you self-control, peace, joy, hope for the future. It could even give you eternal life. Wow! You touch the right key–and zap! You’re immortal!

How to get this wonderful gift:

You have to go to your manufacturer – with a capital “M.” Yes, it’s God who wants to provide your new Central Processing Unit. Actually, He is a Person who can do all those things and more for you: God the Holy Spirit. To receive Him, we have to turn in our own defective personal computer.

The Holy Spirit urges us to be truly sorry for our sins and turn from them. And He makes it personal, so that we understand how much God’s Son suffered for love of us. Then He urges us to receive Christ as our Savior. The Bible says, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

When you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into you and causes you to be “born again” into God’s family (1 Peter 1:23), to become a totally new person. He becomes your helper, your guide, and your source of power. He can make you beautiful inside and out, with His fruit: love, peace, joy, goodness, gentleness, patience, humility, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

But what if you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior and you have fallen away from following Him, and the new spiritual PC you received has not been in operation? The old clunker (otherwise known as “old self”) has been in control of your life. What can you do?

Like a Father, the Lord has been waiting for you to come back to Him and have your new PC restored. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Oh, come back and claim your wonderful inheritance!

Questions: Is your old self in control of your life? What can you do about it?

About the Author Muriel Larson

Take Your Pick

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:53:00 +0000

From a very, very young age we’re taught that choices are important. Whether it’s deciding what color shirt to wear, or what to major in in college, choices, we’re told will have a profound impact not just on what we do but on who we are.

Ask any two year old to put on a pair of shoes without consulting them and you’ll get a quick lesson in the importance of choice. Choice makes us self determinate, gives us control, lets us write the future, or so we’re told. But researchers do not always agree.

I was fascinated by a talk given by researcher Sheena Iyengar at this year’s TEDGlobal conference. (You can watch the talk below). She spoke about the idea of choice, how it varies around the world and how sometimes, getting to choose might not be in our best interest.

She listed three assumptions about choice that are common in America:

If a choice is to be made I should be the one to make it.
The more choices I have, the more likely I am to make the best choice.
I must never say no to choice

At first glance, these seem like reasonable statements, but as she went on to show, it’s rarely that simple. The statement that stood out to me the most was “The value of choice lies in the ability to see the difference in the choices.”

What happens when the options are barely different at all? Does choice become an illusion?

Is choice always better?

Iyengar did a study of parents who had had an infant born with tragic complications that required the child to be put on life support immediately. In all cases the parents were told that the child could not survive if removed from life support, and that on life support the child would remain in a permanent vegetative state. All of the children included in the study had been taken off life support and passed away. Half the parents in the study were American, the other half French.

Among the French parents, the choice to withdraw life support sat with the doctors. For the American parents the choice was theirs. Overwhemingly, the American parents had far more negative reactions to their experience – one parent asked how they could be asked to choose, another spoke of feeling like she had played a role in an execution – yet all the American parents said they could not imagine letting someone else make that choice for them.

Is it kinder not to force the parents to choose when neither option is favorable? Is it worse to hear someone else declare that your child will be removed from life saving devices? It’s an extreme example, and a place no one would ever want to be. I’m not sure what the answer is. Is being able to choose always better?

When we were growing up my Mom often reminded us that very few choices are fatal. With choice comes responsibility, but some choices matter far less than others. When people at church got up in arms over my older brother’s shoulder length hair my Mom calmly smiled and said “No one’s in jail. It’s just hair.” Would she have reacted the same way if it was a tattoo and not a hair cut? Hard to say.

Choice can be a wonderful freedom – no one wants to live as a robot being told what to do when, and where and how. I think the trick to is to learn which choices are the important ones and to recognize that we are always choosing. Deciding not to pick up the phone is a choice just as much as making the call is a choice. Sometimes we mistake passivity for not choosing, but it’s a choice that speaks just as loudly as any other action.

When it comes to the things that matter, how do you decide?

Ready to make even better choices? Try our free life lesson Finding Freedom.

Recipe for Peace, Joy and Victory

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:00:05 +0000

Are you tired of a defeated Christian life? Take this Study.

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

How can we have love, peace, joy, and victory in our lives? Well, God’s Word tells us to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). And when we are filled with the Spirit, we not only have love, peace, and joy, we have the beautiful qualities of patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We can be filled with the Spirit, and continue to be so by following these Scriptural instructions:

Repent: Of anything–actions, attitudes, words, bad habits–anything that might stand between you and the peace and joy of the Lord. True acknowledgment of sin and sorrow over it releases its hold over you and your life. (See James 4:8-10)

Surrender To God: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in views of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and please to God—which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2).

Ask God’s Forgiveness Whenever You Err: To keep Christ’s peace and joy, don’t ever let anything come between you and Him. (See 1 John 1:9)

Forgive: God, Yourself, Others: Ask the Lord to reveal to you if there is anyone who has ever done you ill whom you need to forgive; and with His help, forgive that person. Do
this to exorcise the ghosts in your past that may rise up periodically to haunt you and hurt your life and relationships. Do this to have peace with God, yourself, and others. (See Luke 11:4, Mark 11:25-26, Ephesians 4:32.)

Trust In The Lord In Everything: Be anxious about nothing (Philippians 4:4-8).

Begin Your Day By Rejoicing In The Lord praising and thanking Him (Psalm 34:1). Enjoy life to the fullest! Report to the Lord for duty each morning, willing to serve Him however He may wish, in whatever He may want to do through you, in ministering to others, in being His light to your world.

Whenever Something Gets You Down, Praise The Lord (even and especially when you don’t feel like it). This will lift you out of the dungeon of despair (Acts 16:25-26). It worked for Paul and Silas; and it works for me every time!

Control Your Thoughts: Bring every thought into obedience to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:5). Be on guard against our enemy Satan and his devious devices. Study Ephesians 4:26-5:11, Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8.

Serve The Lord: He has given you a gift or gifts–and talents–with which to serve Him, His
people, and others for His glory. Seek His guidance.

Read: Psalms 23, 34, 37, 51; Matthew 5 to 7; John 14 to 17; Romans 6, 7, 8, and 12; Galatians 5; Book of Ephesians; Philippians 4–until you fully understand what it is to die to self and walk in
the Spirit.

Lord, give me your incredible joy, peace, and victory! Amen

Questions: We’re only human. How can we consistently have Christ’s joy, peace, and victory? How can we find time to do all the things we need to do to have Christ’s joy and peace?

About the Author Muriel Larson